June 9, 2025 • 40 mins
June 14, 1938. It’s 8:30 PM at Lake Worth Casino in Fort Worth, Texas. All eyes are on a huge high-dive platform, 40 feet in the air. And at the top? A woman… on a horse.
Horse diving is one of the most popular acts in America, and Sonora Carver is one of its stars. She’s been doing it for years, traveling the country to perform one of the more unbelievable stunts in sideshow history.
But a few years back, Carver suffered a devastating injury during one of these dives and completely lost her eyesight. And yet, she continues to perform this act for thousands around the country.
How did diving horses become one of America's most popular attractions, only to fade into near-complete obscurity? And what does Sonora's story reveal about the complicated relationship between risk, resilience, and entertainment?
Special thanks to our guests: Cynthia Branigan, author of The Last Diving Horse in America; and Vicki Gold Levi, author and cultural historian of Atlantic City.
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